[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink - Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie

Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie
306 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000
(and several other locations in Melbourne and Sydney)

Website: http://www.laurent.com.au/
Open seven days a week

Date visited: 12/2/2008 (day 4) after luch at Kimurakan Cafe


Main entrance on Lt Collins St (between Swanston St and Elizabeth St), a stone's throw away from the back entrance of David Jones Men department.

Laurent is a welcoming change from the hustle bustle on nearby Collins St, not that the patisserie is not busy. The decor inside is very Parisian with high ceilings adorned with chandeliers, bronze trimmings and marble slabs, everywhere from counter to tables to chairs.

The clientele is equally interesting. I spied well-dressed tanned ladies with high coiffed hair, flame lacquered nails and leopard print jacket and gentlemen with their ill-fitted suit and leather loafers (it's my personal feeling that ONLY Italian men wear nicely-fitted jacket).

I was the only one who look out of place with t-shirt and short denim holding a equally out-of-place little one. Wow, first time I feel under dressed in a bakery. Even the wait staff are better dressed than me in their crisp smart white Laurent embossed uniform. Smart, very smart indeed.

I was even more impressed when I check out their cakes and pastries chiller cabinet. A mind-boggling magnificent spread of choice in front of me, how I suddenly wished I had 4 stomachs!

Front Bora-bora, back Christine (around A$5.50 to $6.50 each)

It took me a while to decide on Bora-bora and Christine. No glaring stare from behind the counter or beside me. The wait-staff very efficiently served everyone. I am impressed indeed. I was greeted with smiles when I beckon a waiter over. Even more smiles when I went to pay. Mmmm, very good training. A far cry from the over-rated Brunetti's, ah, but then that's another post.

I was unsure of the macarons, because they look, er, not very well-made. Irregular size and not smooth shell. What the heck, try try lah. The waiter once again very patiently explain each and every flavour to me, yes, with smiles, again. I think their poor cheeks must have suffered from cramps at the end of their shifts. I got pistachio (no secret I LOVE pistachio anything) and coffee, because chocolate is sold out.

The ingredients used is I must say, very good quality and they don't skimp on the filling which is how I like it. But sadly, the shell is sticky and too wet. Aiya, no match to my beloved Chouquette's.

The coffee macaron did not fare better. The coffee taste did not even come through.

Bora-bora: Coconut dacquoise, dark choc mousse, wild strawberry coulis, coconut mousse & macaron.

Christine: Brownie biscuit, valrhona milk chocolat mousse, creme brulee.

Both the mousse cakes are very very good, the flavours while sound complicated on Bora-bora actually complemented each other very well, no one flavour is stronger than the other. You can taste each and every flavours distinctively while they do magic in your mouth. The flavours of Christine while sounded simple, pack a punch and stongly attack your senses and taste.

This is cloud nine.

There is also another French style patisserie, Le Petite Gateau on 458 Lt Collins St (between Queen St and William St). I visited on Saturday morning, unfortunately, I was met with a 'CLOSED' sign on the door. I tried to find out more info from the internet but all I could find were several Japanese blog entries on the place. How they found fame among Japanese but not local Melbournians is way beyond my comprehension.

Howey Place, off Lt Collins St

I was also on Lt Collins St the previous day. I was on the look out for Bison Stonewares. I did not buy any, transport back to Brisbane is a headache.

Melbourne is famous for laneway shopping and dining. Sure, it's a unique thing but if you think rubbing elbows with strangers while eating is your idea of a great meal, hmmm, then you will like Degraves St and Hardware Lane.

As for up and coming designers or quirky fashion, you can find on Flinders Lane, as ALL the Melbourne guides will tell you. All I can say is truly depend on your style and taste. I personally like Kinki Gerlinki (fashion) and Zomp (shoes) and this little unassuming vintage store (shop name unknown) in Walk Arcade. For quirky fashion, forget about the much over-rated Genki in Cathedral Arcade and head for Shibuya on Elizabeth St where you will find Lolita style fashion which is hot hot hot in, well, Shibuya in Japan. Now, that is quirky and not everyone's cup of tea.

Genki just sells Japanese inspired stuff and clothings. You can also find Lomo fisheye and ActionSampler here, I think I also saw Holga?? And very cute toddler's t-shrts.

More fashion info in other post.

[Melbourne 2008] Food and Drink - Kimurakan Cafe

Kimurakan Cafe
238 Lt Bourke St
Melbourne

Date visited: 12/2/2008 (day 4) for lunch


Kimurakan is located on Lt Bourke St between Swanston St and Russell St.


Kimurakan Special Bento

I was famished after walking around Melbourne CBD for the whole morning. I wanted a lot of food and a lot of variety. The house special bento looks promising and comes with a drink or miso soup for A$13.80 (or thereabout).

The lunchtime menu looks very good with most item under A$10. It's a good value for money luch spot I would say.

The contents of the bento include steam prawns with beansprouts, spring roll, crab claw, beancurd, fried chicken, tonkatsu, salad and an unknown fritter in the middle of the box XD.

Taste isn't too bad either. It's acceptable for that price.

Princess was also happy. Phew, I splurged on the most expensive item on the menu to compensate for previous night's dinner.

We left with big grin on our faces.

Go go go, more walking to do!

[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink - Tomodachi @ Melbourne Central

Tomodachi
On3 (level 3 near Hoyts Cinema)
Melbourne Central Shopping Centre
Cnr La Trobe and Swanston St
Melbourne

Date visited: 11/2/2008 (day 3) for lunch after window shopping at Melbourne Central.

On its website, Tomodachi claimed to be the Best Sushi Train in town. Hah (a joke in my opinion), perhaps because its the only kaiten sushi in Melbourne CBD area (just guessing, I am not familiar with Melbourne at all).

Karaage

Served with salad (nice whole fresh leaves) and honey mustard sauce. This came as a surprise after eating a couple of mediocre offerings from the belt.

Lobster salad

Just thought I would snap this because 1 food photo is just pathetic. I've came all the way from Brisbane!

The promo starts (and the sign hung) at 12pm. We came at 11.50. Bummer.

*********

Before going to Melbourne, I have 'consulted' many Melbourne foodblogs and noted a list of places to eat. My criteria being good food, casual and good value for money. Because of my 'stringent' criteria, I had stumbled upon a few 'landmines'.

Sambal Kampung has enjoyed good coverage in the Melbourne blogosphere. So it is with high hopes that I ordered their 'special' chicken rice to take-away for dinner.

At A$8.50, it did not come cheap. Imagine my surprise when Princess refused to eat anymore after one mouthful (she's normally good and not too picky with food and will even eat just plain white rice). She was going to spit out but I forced her to swallow. I told her, it's not good wasting food.

She said through teary eyes,' What did you give me, so hard, no taste, not nice, I don't want anymore.'

I coaxed her to eat just the msg laden rice and felt lousy (that Princess had to put up with rubbish - lots of msg) for the rest of the night.

Disclaimer: The above opinion is just the author's own shallow perspectives. Taste is a personal and individual thing. The contents are just the author's record of own experiences.

[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink @ A1 Cafe

A1 Cafe
191 Russell St
Melbourne

Date visited: 10/2/2008 (day 2) for afternoon tea

We were in Target for about 10 minutes then Big King buzzed me. He had finished at the MECC and wanted lunch. Alamak it's already 1525, he must be famished.

I suggested A1 Cafe as the roast meats looked good when we walked past earlier on.

Yes, as you can see from the photo, A1 did not escape the patronising lion dance troupe.

Turns out Big King didn't want roasts, he ordered his usual, pork chop. This time it's baked pork chop rice set meal, came with a bowl of mock sharks fin soup for if I am not mistaken A$13.80. The roast duck is beckoning out to me so I ask to add a taste slice of Peking Duck (yes just one) for A$2.80 or is it A$3.80.

The rice and the soup were blah. But the roast duck *eye rolling to the back* was darn good. I was given a breast meat, it came glistened and smell heavenly (from just ONE pathetic piece, yes). The meat was tender and seasoned well, but, my god, the skin was so crispy without any fat *eyes rolling back and forth now* Now this is roast duck done proper.

I was still stuffed from lunch at DHE so I didn't think then to order half a bird and savour it at the hotel later.

Come dinner time, I was STILL stuffed, all the way to the throat from lunch. I skipped dinner but I kicked myself for not bringing back the bird from A1. Awwwww........

Princess watching yet another lion dance, this time at the supermarket next to A1. It took forever for them to finish, I was waiting to do some shopping at the supermarket.

[Melbourne 2008] Chinese New Year Celebration @ Melbourne Chinatown

Date visited: 10/2/2008

After visiting QV, we cross Lonsdale Street and found us on the Russell Street stretch of Melbourne Chinatown.

We were greeted with people mountain people sea (hordes and hordes of people). These suaku, er, people, have come to join in the Chinese New Year celebration in Melbourne Chinatown.

They were crowding around the stalls selling everything festive from new year decor to food to CD to clothes. I can't describe the ware or what food they're selling, I can't even get within 30m of those stalls. I took the photos from pavement using zoom.

Yikes, I forgot to hide people's faces. Hope they don't marah marah.

Chinese opera was also playing. Cool, this is fast becoming a dying art.

We escaped to Target Centre and met with many more lion dances along the way. Princess wanted to look see toys and hopefully we would find her a nicey looking WINTER coat (while still in early Spring XD).

[Melbourne 2008] Shopping - QV

QV
Corner Swanston and Lonsdale St
Melbourne
Website: http://www.qv.com.au/

Date visited: 10/2/2008 (day2)

After lunch at Dessert House Eatery, we cross the road and 'enter' QV. It's a different shopping experience in QV, with the place constructed into laneways. To be honest, I find the place a bit sparse and waste of space. I want shopping centre FULL of shops.

The shops, hmmm, I only came here for toilet and Breadtop in the basement and Lupicia (but that's another Buy post). But I like T.L Wood on Albert Coates Lane, not that I can afford them. A top for A$250, hello!!

See the group of family on the above photo on the right? I stood at my spot for several minutes and still they did not budge. I feel like they were even posing and waiting for me to press the shutter XD. Ho la Ho la.

It was official Chinese New Year celebration day In Melbourne CBD on 10/2/2008. All the Chinese shops were having lion dance performances. It was super noisy and super packed. Princess covered her ears and watch with a poker face. She didn't express likes or dislikes of the lion dance or the firecrackers.

This is Princess' look when we first arrived (about 1pm) - Summer.

This is Princess' look after we did a round of QV and finished shopping at Lupicia (about 2pm) - Autumn

Yes, welcome to Melboune. The city with four seasons in a day.

[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink @ Dessert House Eatery

Dessert House Eatery
313 Swanston Street
Melbourne
(opposite QV)

Date visited: 10/2/2008 (day 2) for lunch

A south-east Asian quick eat place


Menu with colourful food pics


Signature dish: lemongrass chicken chop rice (could opt for pork instead). A$9.80 with a drink

After 10 minutes of sitting down, a plate was plonked in front of me. I was shocked when the mountain of rice stared at me and I stared back hard. The mountain was halved by the end, between Princess and me. I was still full come dinner -_-'''

The chicken was well-seasoned with very subtle hint of lemongrass. I especially like the seasoned green scallions (hidden behind the mountain of rice in pic), I could eat the stuff with white rice alone.

The place is super noisy with cheesy cantonese pop playing in the background. We arrived at 12.30pm and sit upstairs. Patrons kept trickling in, within SECONDS, the place is full.

As they were having a very busy midday service, the waiter printed the bills in advance and put on tables when they are almost done eating. I understand why they do it (and they did it politely) but I still feel uncomfortable. I almost choked on my iced lemon tea while trying to down in one go so we can go go go ale ale ale........

[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink @ Trampoline

Date visited: 9/2/2008 for after dinner dessert.

After dinner at Ye Shanghai. We cross the road and enter Trampoline, a gelato shop.

Shopfront


Green tea and grape gelato?? Mmmmm, not so sure...


We chose very boring flavour; pistachio and open sesame

Verdict: Flavour could be stronger. Texture could be smoother. Nuff said.

We brave the cold and had our gelato outside since no more space liao inside.

The ladies kept looking while I snap the interior, the gelatos and the window, the sign.

Maybe they think waste of effort, haha.

[Melbourne 2008] Food & Drink @ Ye Shanghai

Ye Shanghai
269 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Date visited: 9/2/2008 (Day 1 in Melbourne) for dinner.


Shopfront


Yummy pictures adorned the window


Spareribs with tea-tree mushrooms

This dish looked unappetizing thus uninviting thus it sat on the table for a while before I finally found the courage to dig in. Not a wow dish but taste better than it looked, more importantly, the taste really suited our palette.

Sweet & sour Baramundi

The magnificent looking fish 松鼠魚, arrived at the table after 20 minutes. The sight and smell of this very well executed fish attracted glances from ALL the diners in the hall. A flutter of murmur around followed.

The fish was so delicious we polished the whole plate! Big King does not even like fish! We were still thinking and craving about/for the fish when we went back to the hotel later. When we wanted to satisfy our cravings just before going home, to our horror, the place is closed for renovation! Aiyo, so soi.

Pan-fried bun

As you can see from the pic, very lousy skin but filling was OK. This was only ordered when told the Nanxiang Xiaolong was sold out.

Total bill A$51.40. I think the fish cost A$28.40. I do think all dishes are reasonably priced.

This is seriously a must check out restaurant if you are in Melbourne, do not be fooled by the fact that the restaurant is located on a very busy section of Swanston St hence its reason of survival.

There is also the A$8.80 lunch deal worth checking out. Well, if it was still on when they reopen.

Mini Expo Sale January 2008

大事不妙! Even Mini Garage is having Expo Sale in January 2008! It's not good, it's not good........


Gifts from the Garage:- Sigg bottle, a bottle of bubbly, suction clock, an unbrella and a keychain. Quality bay bai oh.

Shlix Gelato

Shlix Gelato
364 Brunswick Street
Fortitude Valley

QLD 4006


They all look yum!


Our favourite flavours, from left to right:- pistachio (my pick), premium dark chocolate (Princess pick) and black sesame (Big King pick)

Best gelato we have tasted so far. The award winning gelato shop in Melbourne can't even compare (in my opinion, ha), needless to mention other gelato shops we have tried (countless, we are gelato freaks!)

The gelati at Shlix scream intense flavour with the smoothest ever texture. Slide down the throat like a dream while the flavour lingers in the mouth for quite a while. So if you want to eat several flavours at once, choose carefully. I made the mistake of having pistachio and blood orange sorbet at the same time, urghhhh, a no no. But indivudually, they taste like heaven.

Shlix is located at the Chinatown end of Brunswick St so it's quite accesible to tourists. The clusters of standalone boutiques on this side of Brunswick St (including nearby TCB) and round the corner Ann St give Melbourne's Flinders Lane a run for their money.

Back from Melbourne

I was back from Melbourne yesterday. Very tired and aching all over with blistered and blue-black feet. How my feet got blue-black I have simply no idea! It's not like I knock against anything.

Princess and I combed almost every inch of Melboune CBD till she was able to recognise and say the name of the place if we were there the second or third or the Nth time. We were even in Queen Vic market twice, orz.......Travel posts coming soon......

On the way from our hotel to Queen Vic market, we came across this

First Quanjude in Australia. Quanjude is a famous roast duck purveyor in Beijing. I had a peek inside, the decor is 'flashy' traditional Chinese and very opulent.

The restaurant is only opening tomorrow on the 19th Feb 2008. I had been hoping to be one of the first customers, alas it's not fated to be.

Visit the website for phone number and opening times.

Bling Bling Cocktail Ring

Purchased from Hollywoodstyle (shipping internationally).

From right to left: pink zirconia ring (A$10, on sale), multi-coloured stones ring (A$20, on sale), vintage hearts topaz (A$89) and clear zirconia earrings (free gift)

The main target for this time purchase is the yellow topaz ring, the other two rings were just sun-pian because they were so cheap! All three rings are very pretty and the multi-coloured one wears especially well.

All rings and the earring are set to the very high standards with no gluey and dangly bits.

Let's all get glam!

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2008

Happy(?) Chinese New Year Reunion dinner on 6 Feb 2008.


Cold plate consists of deep fried scallops, spring roll and 炒桂花翅 (stir fried mock sharks fin)

年年有餘 (Sweet and sour fish)


Braised sea cucumber, fish maw and shiitake.


Fish maw and mock sharks fin soup.


Pineapple tarts

I am so knackered. The cleaning, preparation, cooking, washing up, normal household chores, shopping (food) and jaga Princess...... I think it's all too much.

All the food turned out good (I think) but Princess say restaurant food better -_-''' orz......... Despite saying that she sure ate a lot especially the scallops.

Big King had to work late so no happy reunion :(

Brisbane on Sale! - Myer Loot

Cardigan from Tokito A$59.95 (not on sale but they are toooo pretty with bling bling buttons ohhhhhh)

Skirt from Regatta A$45 (reduced from A$90). This skirt is sooooo sui and luxurious to the touch, bought on behalf of a friend.

Metallic silver tights from Voodoo A$10 (reduced from A$30). Must have, trend still going strong this season.

Blue tights from unknown brand A$4.55 (original price unknown). Scouted from clearance bin. Goes very well with my super short Sass mini denim skirt A$35 (not pictured, original price unknown) and Sass long empire line sleeveless tee A$12.95 (not pictured, reduced from A$29.95).

Brisbane on sale! - Giallo Loot

Giallo
Shop 40-41 Queens Plaza
226 Queens St Mall
Brisbane 4000


Got 2 pairs of shoes at 50% off.


Left: Monroe (very light grey patent) A$94.50
Right: Beau (gold) A$84.50

This gold sandal look soooo pretty on the feet and most important, these 2 pairs are super comfy because the sole is flexible rubber.

PS. Giallo normally only offer 25% discount but towards the end of sale period they will do a 50% for a week only.

I maybe ugly but I taste good

The weird looking crustacean is called Moreton Bay bug, I am not sure if they can be found somewhere else. But boy they sure taste good! Sweet, succulent and springy, they are better than the mantis prawn!

If you come across them, eat them. Loads! But they don't come cheap, about $60/kilo. You'll get about 6 to 10 for a kilo depending on the size. I like them simply grilled!

Coffee Cheesecake (recipe included)

Quite a few people had approached me to request for the recipe of Alex Goh's coffee cheesecake I posted eons ago. Sadly I don't have the book with me anymore so I was unable to share.

I never stop trawling the net for cheesecake recipe. After a lot of trials and adjustments made to recipes sourced from the internet. I finally settled on the following recipe which suited my family's palate.

Coffee cheesecake

Light Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

A Cream Cheese 250g
Unsalted butter 45g
Milk 112g

B Cake flour 37g
Corn flour 23g

C Egg yolks 6 (large size egg with shell on @50-55g)

D Egg whites 6
Sugar 115g

9 in round mould or 21cmx21cm square cake pan, base and sides lined with parchment paper

Method:

1. Put A into a double boiler or a heavy base saucepan. With a low flame, heat A until mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when there is no lumps. Set aside and let the mixture cool slightly. Caution: do not overheat or mixture will split.
2. Sift B and add to 1.
3. Add C, the egg yolks, to batter mixture and stir until well combined. Set aside.
4. Start to beat the egg whites on low speed. When it reaches foamy stage, increase speed to medium high and add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. Whip egg whites to soft peak (see below). Make sure sugar is completely dissolved.
5. Fold egg whites into batter. Make sure mixture is completely incorporated before pouring into mould.
6. Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius. Bake in a bain marie (water bath) using boiling water with water reaching up halfway to the cake tin. If using loose bottom or spring form pan, double wrap the bottom and sides with aluminium foil to prevent water seeping into the pan.
7. Bake at 170 degree Celsius for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 140 degree Celsius and bake for a further 1 hour or until cooked (test with a skewer, it should come out clean).
8. Remove from oven when cooked. Let the cake cool slightly in the tin before removing and cooling it on the wire rack. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 6 hours) before serving when cooled completely.

Note:
1. Cake should not shrink but slightly is fine.
2. Every oven behave differently, several trial and error is needed to find the optimal temperature with your oven. The above recipe is baked in a fan oven.
3. SOFT PEAK STAGE - The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites droop slightly, when the beater is turned off and lifted. Do not continue beating past this stage as the whites will become dry.

4. If making coffee cheesecake add 3 tbsp instant coffee granules (I use Alta Rica) to 1 and mix well until completely dissolved. If making Irish coffee cheesecake, add the coffee granules and replace 65g of the milk with Baileys.

Irish Coffee Cheesecake


New York style caramel cheesecake